In old mill buildings, a structure’s rehabilitation and change of occupancy can present a challenge. In the decades before 1900, mill buildings of varying sizes began to appear in the heavily industrialized areas of the United States. Many of these mammoth structures filled entire city blocks; some even had their own self-supporting villages outside city limits. Mill or Type IV (heavy timber) construction, according to National Fire Protection Association 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code, features, among other things, “interior structural members including columns, beams, girders, trusses, arches, floors, and roofs of solid or laminated wood without concealed spaces.” The structures had to be capable of holding heavy loads of manufacturing equipment and stock.
However, by the early 1980s, manufacturing processes had changed. Many companies retooled, moved to new facilities in industrial parks, transferred manufacturing overseas where labor was cheaper, or simply closed their plants altogether. The behemoths of our first industrial base began to close and decay.
Many of these structures sat idle for years, until housing markets improved, urban centers showed signs of rebirth, and small specialty manufacturers needed affordable work space. The makeover of mills for the 21st century is now in full swing. This recycling of century-old real estate poses many challenges for firefighters (photo 1).
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